Editor's Note

The Charge

America was born in the streets.

Opening Statement

"I'm forty-seven. Forty-seven years old. You know how I stayed alive
this long? Fear. Fearsome acts. A man steals from me, I cut off his hand. If he
offends me, I cut out his tongue. If he stands against me, I cut off his head,
stick it on a pike, and lift it up for all to see. A spectacle of fearsome acts.
That's what maintains the order of things. Fear."—Bill the Butcher
(Daniel Day-Lewis)

Facts of the Case

After spending sixteen years in an orphan's asylum, Vallon (Leonardo
DiCaprio, The Aviator) is returning
home to Five Points, Manhattan. It's the 1860s, and the Civil War is still
raging. Meanwhile, there's a lot of small battles raging between various gangs
in Manhattan. Some of these gangs are under the protection the law, some aren't,
and some actually are the law. One thing is for certain: this is a world where
you either kill or be killed. Vallon joins the powerful forces of Bill the
Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will
Be Blood), and also finds himself falling in love with an attractive
prostitute (Cameron Diaz, In Her Shoes).
However, there's an ominous bit of history hanging over this situation: Bill the
Butcher killed Vallon's father when Vallon was only a child. Does Vallon know
this? If not, what is he going to do when he finds out?

The Evidence

Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York was a famously troubled
production, encountering numerous problems and delays before it was finally
finished in 2002. The film received a good deal of praise, and racked up no less
than ten Academy Award nominations. Despite the film's obvious level of
craftsmanship, there was a general consensus that the film was somehow lacking
that enthusiastic magic that Scorsese's finest work contained. Perhaps it was
the film's difficult journey to the finish line, or maybe it was the shift from
crime stories of the 20th Century to the 19th Century. Whatever the cause,
Gangs of New York simply doesn't have the unforgettable qualities of
truly great Scorsese films like Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, and Raging Bull.

That being said, even second-rate Scorsese is better than first-rate efforts
from almost anyone else, and Gangs of New York is a fairly impressive and
engaging journey to 1860s New York. The atmosphere created by Scorsese and his
crew is very convincing, very effectively taking us to a new place. Scorsese had
some top-flight talent working on this film, and it shows. Dante Ferretti
provides the production design, Sandy Powell handles the costume design, and
Michael Ballhaus supplies the top-flight cinematography. These individuals
deserve significant credit for so authentically creating this world.

Scorsese compiles an A-list cast for the film, highlighted by the
performance of Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher. Day-Lewis commands every
scenes he appears in and creates a character that is complex and frightening.
This is the sort of memorable role that might have been considered a
career-defining performance, if only Day-Lewis hadn't followed it up by playing
Daniel Plainview in There Will Be
Blood. Elsewhere, there are solid supporting turns from old pros like Jim
Broadbent (Hot Fuzz), Brendan Gleeson
(In Bruges), John C. Reilly (Magnolia), and Liam Neeson (Kingdom of Heaven), though none of these
individuals is permitted more than a small handful of noteworthy scenes.

This is a pretty solid hi-def transfer, further accentuating the sharp
attention to detail in the production and costume design. As far as Blu-ray
transfers go, this one is just about average. It won't knock your socks off, but
it's pretty stellar. The uncompressed sound is very well balanced, and there's
some dynamic subwoofer action during the film's explosive finale. Bonus features
are carried over from the previous DVD release. The supplements seem generous,
but I was left unsatisfied by them. The featurettes and documentaries focus on
production design and the historical background, and Scorsese's commentary
provides more of the same. However, there's a disappointing lack of discussion
of the film's themes and ideas, and even less discussion of the problems that
plagued the film's production and release.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Leonardo DiCaprio has turned into a pretty fine actor in recent times, but I
don't think he was ready to take on the lead role in Gangs of New York
back in 2002. His performance as a lover/fighter is unconvincing, and DiCaprio
doesn't seem capable of sinking deep enough into the role to shed his familiar
movie-star persona. Even less convincing is the performance of Cameron Diaz as a
pickpocket prostitute. Diaz can play certain roles well enough, but she has
rather limited range as an actress, and this particular role is well outside
that range.

Originally, composer Elmer Bernstein had provided a score for the entire
film (having previously worked with Scorsese on Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, and Bringing Out the Dead). However,
Bernstein's efforts were ultimately rejected, and Scorsese took an oddly
anachronistic approach for the film's soundtrack. While various songs of the
period are littered through the film as source music, Scorsese also employs very
modern contributions from Peter Gabriel and U2 for the film. While the music is
terrific on its own, it does have a tendency to take the viewer out of the
atmosphere that everyone works so hard create. There are also selections from a
concert work by composer Howard Shore, and these work well enough. Still, this
is a pretty problematic and unfocused soundtrack that is a liability
overall.

Closing Statement

Though not Scorsese's best work, Gangs of New York is still an
engaging film that doesn't feel too long despite a running time of nearly three
hours. Recommended.